Nokia CEO blasts rivals as “hedging” on smartphone strategy

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has accused the company’s smartphone rivals of “a lot of hedging”, being unwilling to pick just one platform to champion until Nokia with Windows Phone. “We’re going to step aside from the pack and say we have an opportunity for differentiation …We’re not doing a little bit of everything” Elop told Wired. “This is what we’re doing.”

Such a strategy differs significantly from that of other currently successful firms, such as Samsung. While Apple is a notable exception to Elop’s argument – focusing solely on iOS for its relatively compact iPhone range – Samsung produces devices running Windows Phone, Android and bada, the company’s own smartphone platform, and is expected to unveil Tizen handsets in the coming months.

That, Elop argues, is potentially to their detriment. “There’s a lot hedging going on in the industry, that’s for sure” he says, “and this is why I say rather boldly these are the first real Windows Phones. Our best innovation, our best industrial design, our best cameras, our best software, whatever it is, is being focused on the Windows Phone platform. Unambiguously.”

Whether Nokia’s “unambiguous” strategy is actually working out remains to be seen; the company is yet to confirm sales figures of any of its Windows Phone handsets. US availability kicked off last week, with the T-Mobile Lumia 710 – already discounted to free with contract by some retailers – and will continue with the release of the AT&T Lumia 900 which is believed to be arriving in March.